Number Patterns and Rules

Inside the case file

These number patterns worksheets give your 4th grade class ten CSI Mini Mystery Detective cases for math practice on pattern rules and missing numbers in a pattern. It's 4.OA.C.5 practice, where students generate a number pattern from a rule, and the code breaker spy theme fits any time of year. Use the pattern worksheets in your math centers, for morning work or as homework through the whole algebraic thinking unit. They're no prep, and each case has an answer key.

The ten cases run in the order you'd teach number patterns. Cases 1 to 4 are rules only, cases 5 to 7 are missing numbers, and cases 8 to 10 mix the two. Students match each answer to a suspect's badge and cross that suspect off. When all the answers are right, there's just one suspect left on the list, and that's the villain.

What's Inside

• 10 one-page cases with 20 problems each, and an answer key for every case
• Rule problems written the same way each time, like "Start at 23. Rule: add 4. 5th number = ?"
• Missing number patterns with the gap at the start, in the middle or at the end
• Add and subtract rules all the way through. Multiply rules come in at case 4 and in the mixed cases
• A reference page with worked examples, including odd and even numbers in a pattern
• Contents page, teacher instructions, a case log and a certificate
• 30 pages in black and white

The Cases

1. The Stolen Passwords - every password taken overnight
2. The Bugged Letter - a listening bug found in a letter
3. The Rogue Drone - a drone over headquarters at night
4. The Blank Cameras - security cameras switched off at midnight
5. The Missing Memory Card - secret maps taken from a desk
6. The Fake ID Card - an invisible ink pen taken from the lab
7. The Locked Files - case files locked with a new code
8. The Chocolate Key - the vault key swapped for a chocolate one
9. The Muddy Footprints - a cookie recipe taken from an office
10. The Hidden Wiretap - someone listening in on phone calls

When to Use This Resource

Start with case 1 after your first lesson on pattern rules. The rules cases come first and the missing number cases come next, which means you can hand them out in order as the unit goes along. Keep the three mixed cases for review before the test. They're also good for small groups, bell ringers, sub days, test prep and homeschool, and 5th grade teachers can use them for back to school review.

Grade Levels

Made for 4th grade (4.OA.C.5). Strong 3rd graders can try the first few cases, and it works as a number patterns review at the start of 5th grade.

Why Teachers Love Mystery Detectives

• Ready to print, with nothing to prep
• Self-checking, since each right answer crosses off a suspect
• Pattern rules and missing number patterns in one pack
• A spy agency theme, from stolen passwords to a chocolate key
• Clean black and white pages

Want more cases like these?

Follow Kiwiland Education to discover more CSI Mini Mystery Detective cases, no-prep math activities, and detective-themed printables for elementary classrooms.

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